Preamble
by LegendsGuardian
Summary: Everything ended when they lost their armors in Africa, or did it? Rowen was certain that it was over, but now he finds himself questioning if it ever really ended at all.
1. Chapter 1

Midnight-blue eyes were focused on the road ahead of him and nothing else. He had biked this route perhaps a thousand times over the years. Oh sure, by this point he was old enough to have a license (which he did only because his father had teased him about not having one) but he had little use for cars.

He paused a moment, a frown on his face as his thoughts turned towards why he was coming out here. It was a chance to be sure. There was still time for him to turn around, head back to his apartment, and backlog this silly venture.

No. He had to know. As he pulled off to the side to rest and catch his breath, a free hand went to the satchel strapped to the back of his bike. The manuscript contained within it was what was pushing him to be here now. He closed his eyes and let out a loose breath, he had not realized how high his nerves had become.

Rowen Hashiba pursed his lips in thought, running a hand through his blue hair. Maybe this was a bad idea. He had found that thing solely by accident, or maybe it wasn't. That was what was scaring him. He had thought it was over, that his days as a Ronin Warrior were past him, but what if-? What if it wasn't behind him, what if he and the other four were still bound to foolish oaths that they had taken on as boys?

"No, I have to know for sure," the archer murmured to himself as he started to pedal again deciding he had taken long enough of a break.

There was only one person he could think of that could make sense of what he had found, and only one person who could help point him to the path he should take. He and the others had known for a while, there was no way the remaining four didn't know she had been staying with Mia off and on for the last year.

She always took great care in making sure not to be around when one of them dropped in to check on the red-head. The five young men had fallen apart, had stopped being friends as they tried to figure out what life without their armor meant, but they still checked on Mia. The young woman had hated the fact they had grown so far apart, still hated it. Rowen remembered their last argument: the fiery red-head scolding him thoroughly for not talking to his friends.

His rebuttal had been the only reason they were friends was because of the armor, her retort had been what about Sage seeing as how the two of them had been close _before_ the armor. It, well things changed that was all. There had not been that many physical scars due to the healing power of the armor but the emotional had been many. They just wanted to move on, to forget it ever happened. Doing that made it easier, easier to reconcile the fact they had died, that they had given up parts of themselves that they would never see again.

Mia had given him a sad look, told him to leave. If he hated his past that much, he shouldn't come and see her again. She had almost seemed to expect the reaction from him, reflecting on it later Rowen had wondered if she had the same talk with the others.

She probably had, save for Ryo. The little brother she would always strive to the upmost within her power to protect, and more so if it be required. Ryo had always been alone before the armor, what did he have to go back to?

That particular guilt was eating at Rowen with every day that passed. He and the bearer of Wildfire weren't really all that different. Rowen's father was buried with his work, his mother still as much an airhead as ever, he had no actual life to go back to either save for his beloved studies. The archer had at an early age retreated to books, and he had found himself right back there upon the destruction of the armor.

The five of them had remained at Mia's a week after getting back from Africa, only to return to their lives in a way far different from any of their previous partings: they had splintered. Even now they remained apart. It was a trend the archer saw continuing and he wondered at the end of it all, if maybe it wasn't better that way.

He let out a loose breath and forced himself to calm. His rising agitation would surely alert _her_ and he did not want her knowing he was there until it was too late for her to bolt. His thoughts turned back to last month when he had profusely apologized to Mia for his asinine behavior, and pleaded with her to eventually forgive him for being such a downright asshole.

She had cracked up in laughter, saying that he sounded more like the sly smart-ass she remembered. Then queried if he had found a girl and that was why he was out of his funk, which sent him turning bright red and spluttering. Mia could call him a smart-ass all she liked, the way he saw it she was the queen of wisecracks.

The archer had then decided to pry a little, because he knew Mia was not alone in that big house. He may not have had the armor of Strata anymore, but he was still sensitive to _that_ presence: they all were. After all, she had grown up with them. Bounced around from house to house at the seeming whims of her legal guardian, but the archer knew better. It had been done on purpose as she was as much of a lure as they were. For whatever reason, her abilities as shaman and their abilities as Ronin muted each other. Not cancelled each other out, but worked in such a way to prevent things from sensing them.

There had always been demons and spirits of malcontent in the world, Rowen had often denied that fact before the war with Talpa. After it, he had no choice but to acknowledge that it was real and had always been so. He had just been blind to it, like any normal mortal because like the little shaman had said: "It was trained out of you, Ro."

No one had ever told her those things weren't real, and by being tossed from clan to clan she had never had the stable reinforcement she needed to build those walls. Yet, it had served one purpose: to keep him and the others safe from that type of harm. Just long enough for them to find the armors and come into their own power. Power she had claimed they had always had. The shaman seemed convinced they never needed the armors to be different, and now that he reflected on it maybe that was true.

The armor of Strata was gone, but he still felt a pull to the sky. Still could stare up at it and get lost in his thoughts for hours. He hated being grounded to Earth, missed the feeling of being in the air. Had his armor really been that much of a burden? Rowen slowed as the large house suddenly came into view.

He was everywhere and that was starting to frustrate him. He needed to keep calm and focus on why he was here. He needed to keep his thoughts from jumping from one line to the other. Yet, that dream the other night had set him on edge. Then to find this book in the library, well it had caused the rest of the warning flags to go up. The armor might be gone but his instinct as a warrior was still very much intact.

' _Right, back on topic_ ,' he schooled his thoughts and features; something he had picked up from the blond swordsman. Mia had not divulged much, though she had admitted she had a friend staying with her that was helping with her research. The red-head had commented it was only fair as the person was funding her project. Rowen had given a wry grin teasingly asking as to when the ever-logical-skeptic Mia had started taking help from supernaturally-inclined people. The retort had been: "Right about the time I started playing babysitter to five boys wearing mystical armor."

Rowen had flushed in embarrassment as it had been more than an adequate touché, and his ears still went red at the memory of it. She had seemed slightly taken aback by his guess though, for it had shown in her face. There was no sense in Mia denying it, as he had gently told her. The five of them no longer had their armors, but it didn't matter they knew the shaman's presence regardless.

"Just tell her I said "hi,"" the archer mused aloud, as he resumed his earlier pace. "She was probably bent as hell with that one." This thought had served to amuse him a great deal. He had always enjoyed ruffling the younger girl's feathers. It had been a long time since he had spoken to her, and even longer since he had seen her. She was in for a surprise today.

He saw that Mia's new sports-type car was not in the drive, though the old dilapidated jeep sat in its spot. She had kept the vehicle for sentimental reasons, she had told him: the main sentiment being Ryo had avidly protested her getting rid of it. The archer had known Mia would be out, she had said she was going away for a few days to do a presentation up at a university somewhere (he had only been half paying attention).

That gave him the perfect chance to drop in on the shaman, and have a one on one talk with her. There was no way she was going to be able to pull one of her infamous vanishing acts this time. She was sensitive to their presences, but she had admitted to him once that his was hard to nail down unless she was really focused or knew he was stopping by. When he had given her a smug grin at hearing this information her flat retort was: "It's only because your armor is just as much of an ass as you!"

He chuckled to himself at this recollection. Finding out she had known Cye had helped to explain her mouth. She was heavy on the sarcasm, wit, and swearing even though she was three years younger. Then again, if she reminded Rowen of anyone it was Sage. Her mannerisms were identical to the blond's: calm under most forms of pressure, respectful to all, confident with a sense of humility, but terrifying when her buttons had been pressed too hard.

The archer always imagined that if Sage hadn't been raised to such strict bushido code, that there would have been no difference between the two of them. That was another scary thought right there.

"Not as scary as her reaction to this is going to be," Rowen wryly grinned to himself as he grabbed his satchel and slung it over his shoulder. Another thing she had in common with Sage was she absolutely _hated_ being surprised.

He walked up the steps and paused, the doorbell just in reach but his hands froze. Now that he was here that pit in the middle of stomach had grown. A frown framed his face, when had he gotten so nervous? He had broken into a slight sweat at some point, but it wasn't from the exercise it was from nerves.

The archer shook himself, "Get it together, Rowen. You have to do this." Pep talk now over, he pressed the doorbell and waited. He could hear someone shuffling about inside, walking towards the door, and then it opened.

Rowen was momentarily taken aback by the person that greeted him. It had been a few years, but she had changed immensely. She was a good two inches taller than what he remembered, and her features which had always been childlike had changed to that of a typical teenage girl. Though, she certainly could compete with him in the being far too thin for Cye's tastes category.

Her hair had always been stubborn with blonde bangs and the rest raven-black but it had been short. The bangs now hung in her eyes, and the rest of it was in a long braid that went down past the middle of her back.

Her head was nearly level with his torso, and she tilted it back to glance up at him, violet eyes wide in shock at seeing him there. She opened her mouth but no sound came out at first.

She then resolutely worked her jaw, said flatly, "Mia's not here," and proceeded to try and close the door on him.

The archer couldn't help himself, he laughed at her reaction. Putting up a hand to stop the door from shutting on him, he smirked, "Nice to see you too, Elayne."

"Rowen," it came out in a growl, as she struggled to get the door shut. "She's not here."

The young man quickly became solemn, "I know. I didn't come here to see her. I came here to see you."

The struggle abruptly stopped, and she curiously peeked around the door a perplexed look on her face, "Huh?"

"I came to see you," the archer repeated, tone gentle as he tried hard to keep the edge out of his voice. "I need to talk with you."

She closed her eyes a moment, seeming to think it over in her head, she re-opened her eyes and quirked an eyebrow at him, "Really? Cause like, I'm pretty sure I've sent you a handful of letters and left you some voicemails that you never _**answered**_."

He flushed red in embarrassment, let out a nervous laugh, "Seven letters, and eight voicemails in the last year. I'm sorry! I honestly just forgot to reply!" She did not seem to be convinced the bored look proof of that, and he added meekly handing her two sealed envelopes, "Here's a couple of my replies."

Elayne took them and started to laugh, "Ro, you're such an ass. Did you leave your brain out in space or what?" She shook her head, but motioned for him to come in then stepped aside so he could enter.

Rowen took the invitation and walked into the house, quickly slipping out of his shoes and into slippers, "Might have. Or maybe I never had one to begin with."

"Ya the guy that's on par with a super computer never had a brain," she dryly commented with a roll of her eyes. She tilted her head at him, "Want something to eat?"

"Nah, I'm good," his ears perked up at hearing the sound of the tea kettle whistling away on the stove.

"Tea then?" she asked with a knowing grin, she chuckled when he gave a nod.

Rowen settled himself at the dining room table, laying the satchel down, though he kept it closed. His eyes were trained anywhere but there. He wasn't sure what he was so afraid of, but he was tense. He drummed his thumbs on the table as he waited for the girl to emerge from the kitchen.

She was quick to do so, ever the prompt person, just one more trait she shared with Sage. It made sense to him that they would have some similarities, after all they were cousins. Yet, he was always reminded more of a pair of twins than anything else. He had even heard Sage's grandmother make the remark that Elayne was more Date than Mogami, that she had been born to the wrong family. Of course Elayne's sly retort was that Sage took after _her_ clan, seeing as how Date Masamune's mother was Mogami.

It was so strange, he was thinking about the others now when he had not thought of them in months. Well maybe a passing thought here or there, but nothing like this. He gave an inclination of his head in thanks as she handed him the cup.

His midnight blue eyes were focused on the swirling liquid. This plan had sounded so good in his head, but now that he was here he was having trouble executing it. Maybe, maybe he had made the wrong choice after all.

Elayne sat across from him and sipped at her tea calmly, her eyes were closed maybe half in thought or half in sleep. He wasn't quite sure which it was, it could have been the latter there were bags under her eyes. It reminded him he was not sleeping well either. Rowen let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. Crap, what was he supposed to do?

"Starting at the beginning tends to work best," the teenager offered, putting down her cup and placing her head on her hands to look at him. "Or you can sit there and continue to put yourself in knots."

He momentarily balked, letting out a nervous chuckle, "I forgot you could do that."

"You came here seeking the advice of a shaman," Elayne snorted back a laugh, "And forgot she was sensitive to your emotions? Dude, seriously? Are you even _from_ Earth?"

"Oi, stop with the space jokes already," the archer gave her a sulky look. "You're so mean, just like your twin."

At even this remote mention of the blond the girl scoffed, and she leveled him with a look, tone of voice calm, "Ro, stop dwelling on it, and spit it out."

"I-I," he paused and swallowed, eyes going to the bag. "I wanted to come to you with this, because I think this is more your area of expertise than Mia's. You are going for linguist right?"

The girl's eyes were suddenly half-lidded, "Ya, Nakahara-san insisted on me doing "useful" studies due to my position in my clan. Basically he wanted me to be a doctor, which I told him was _not_ happening so it's the nurse practitioner thing instead. And the languages thing comes in handy being the legal ward of a Japanese ambassador. Plus it helps the shaman aspect of things too, in a roundabout way."

"Well, this sorta applies, and sorta doesn't," the archer continued on, he realized how lame he sounded right now. He finally opened his satchel and pulled out a worn manuscript, "I stumbled across this in the library last week. Been there so long there's no real record of it, and they let me have it for a steal to get it off the shelf so they could put useful volumes there. But it's-it's what is in it that I think falls under your side of the spectrum."

Her violet eyes had narrowed and focused on the book the minute he drug it out, a scowl now framing her face as he gently placed it on the table so that it sat between them. She made no move to grab it at all, her eyes trained on the cover as she read the lettering.

She looked to the archer, saying softly, "No. You didn't accidentally find this, it called to you. Didn't it, Rowen of Strata?"

Rowen's eyes went wide at her accusation. Well he had figured she would be able to pick up on the truth: he _had_ felt a pull to that worn volume. It still made him uneasy that she knew. "But, but they're gone! So's the power."

"Are they?" Elayne tilted her head as she looked at him. "I remember telling you once, that you didn't need the armors to special or to be powerful. Did you think it would all just go away when they vanished?"

"Yes, no," the archer was on his feet in an instant, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration, "I don't know! We were kids fighting things that should have never existed; playing with powers we had no real understanding of."

"And who's fault would that be?" the girl remained in her seat at the table. Not allowing his swirling emotions to get the better of her, even though they all too easily could have. She remained calm with him and patient allowing him the chance to vent his growing frustration and unease.

For that Rowen was truly grateful. It had been so long since he had someone he could just talk to about any of this. He hadn't wanted to burden Mia with it, though he knew she would have been willing to listen, he hadn't been willing to talk to her about this. He had let it sit within himself and stew, and now it was all rising to the surface. He was doing nothing to hold it back, and the girl seemed content to just sit there and deal with it.

"Ours," he scowled, sides heaving in and out with angry breaths. "We could have listened. I'm sure you warned each of us in the same not so subtle manner." At her amused grin, he snorted but didn't dwell on it, he continued on with his angry rant, "How can it not be over? Why us? I don't want to hear that "we best fit the virtues" line of crap either!" His eyes went to the book, anger flickering within them, "And I want to know _**how**_ someone knew what we were going to do before we even did it. It's a play, An, someone made our lives into a play!"

She had taken the book in her hands having retracted them very quickly as almost she'd been burned by the paper, but she was gentle with it now turning the pages ever so carefully as her violet eyes took it all in. She finally glanced up at him, noting he was shaking but she wasn't quite sure which emotion was at the forefront: anger or fear.

Elayne sighed heavily through her nose, "You done now, Spacecase? Or do you need to angst some more?" She knew there was no point in talking to him if he was still as wound up as he was giving off.

Rowen let out a shaky breath, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides as he tried to collect himself. He finally returned his eyes to her though they were still stormy they had lost most of their sharp edge. He was used to her curt words, hell that had been the only way she had ever been able to get through his thick-skull, so he wasn't the least bit bothered by them.

"No, no I'm good," the archer finally said after several moments of tense silence. He ran a hand through his hair, starting to calm. He gave her a small grin, "Thanks An-chan."

"Elayne," she corrected, eyes having gone back to the volume before her. "And you're welcome, but I only did it cause your emotions were starting to grate on my nerves."

He let out a chuckle and resumed his seat at the table. She had always had that ability, the ability to put anyone at ease. She had been good at it as a child, but now that she had training under her, hell he hadn't even realized she'd been working on mending his wary emotions since he walked into the house. He wasn't surprised at her deflecting his thank-you either, after all-

"Compare me to Sage in your head just _**one**_ more time," she said in warning, eyes now tearing away from the book and back onto him.

Rowen laughed, "A'ight, a'ight. My bad. So? You going to answer any of my, erm-"

"Emotional outburst that was totally on par with one of Ryo's guilt trips?" she offered when he stalled for a word, tilting her head to the side with a grin at the way his ears went red. "The armors chose you because of your potential. Sure, the fact you were the most aligned with the virtues imprinted on them by Kaosu had a hand in it, but your clan symbols weren't exactly engraved in them by accident."

"And that _**thing**_ ," he pointed at the book in disgust, the scowl back on his face. "They made our lives into a play."

"No Rowen, no. At one point? This was a prophecy book," Elayne gently shut the worn volume. "People like me, shaman, miko, anyone on Earth that isn't your average human have never been quite safe. Too much fear, far too much hatred. Oracles, anyone with the ability to see things before they happened would write them down, sometimes in hundreds of volumes. Ordinary people would find them turn them into stories, or in your case a play."

"See, I knew I needed to talk to you for this," the archer admitted. He sighed, "So that means, what? That Destiny and Fate are absolute, that they cannot be changed?"

Elayne shook her head, looking at him in amusement, "I would have thought battling demon emperors, warlocks, and guys running around in their underwear would give you a little more perspective than that. Nothing is absolute. Every person has a choice, Ro. They can accept things, or they can ignore them."

The young shaman was on her feet now. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "You could have taken any number of paths to reach where you are right now. That's the thing about Fate, we make it ourselves. For every door you go through, the option you could've taken still exists but it just isn't available to you anymore. That manuscript? Is just the road you all actually took. I'm sure there was an actual book at some point with all the other options you could have taken written out."

"But it's not a coincidence that I found it now," Rowen could see where her line of discussion was going. "It called to me. So why?"

"I'm not going to lie, there is an awful lot of malice attached to that thing," Elayne had removed herself from him now, walked back over to the book and gently picked it up. "It has been through true horror. I don't like it at all, it is making me very uneasy. The malice is pure, untainted and in such a state it is extremely powerful." She handed it back to the archer, sighing as she rubbed at her forehead.

"What do I do?"

"Well, you've got two options," the girl said, leaning back against the wall as she looked at him. "Follow your instinct and send it to a certain Wildfire Ronin like you planned to do, or you can burn the damn thing and leave me the hell alone."

Rowen chuckled, "Temper, temper, small fry." He smirked at her visible eye twitch, but his amusement faded as the true weight of her words sunk in. "So, it's still not over and I can decide to walk away now? Go on living like none of this ever happened, or face whatever is coming and accept it?"

"I think that's pretty much what I just said," she dryly commented. Silence fell between them for several moments and she abandoned her spot by the wall to go and stare out the window. It was just now starting to turn to dusk. "You're going to need to head back, Ro. Unless you wanna crash in your old room for the night. I know you biked up here, I would have heard a car."

Rowen let out a chuckle, and grabbed the manuscript putting it back in his satchel, he got to his feet, "Thanks for the advice Elayne."

"Ro?"

He stopped, turned his head back to look at her, "Ya?"

"As your friend, knowing what you and the others have gone through, knowing how you have suffered, I want you to burn that manuscript and ignore whatever it is that's going to happen," she murmured quietly. She looked up at him a small smile on her face, "But we both know what you're going to do. So, be careful, kay?"

Rowen gave the girl a lopsided grin. Yes, he had already come to his decision. It may not have been the easy one, but he would forever be driven to what was right. Just like a typical hero.

"Don't let it go to your head," the shaman teased catching the thought. "I just want you to stay safe, that's all."

"I will, no worries imp," he had walked back over to her, and he gave her a quick hug. "You keep safe, too. I'll see ya around."

"Or at least try to respond sooner when I call you," she hollered after him. "Absentminded professor!"

"Nah, that's my dad," Rowen called back, slipping back into his shoes. "I will make an effort though, just no promises!" He opened the door and stepped out into the cooling air, eyes going to the now setting sun. Crap, he really had dallied too long. There was no way he would safely make it back, most certainly not in the dark. And she had probably known that, the little snot!

"Well, looks like I'm spending the night after all," the archer said with a resigned sigh, as he turned and walked back into the house.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi guys, so I wrote this almost three years ago now and it has been sitting in my Doc folder since. This is a super short story that ties into TGOL. There was always supposed to be a prequel to TGOL that explained how the Ronin ended up knowing Elayne (as TGOL wasn't the place to explain it since it detracted too much from the main story line): that is** ** _not_** **what this is. This would be a pre-Message story (that I may, or may not actually write the Message portion of one day {don't get your hopes up; I've scraped that story four times so far} that does touch base on how Rowen and Elayne know each other. This story is complete, but it may take me a bit to get the rest of it uploaded. Thanks for your patience and enjoy!  
-LG**


	2. Chapter 2

Elayne chuckled when she heard the door open, the young man pause, then step back inside and close the door behind him with an embarrassed sigh. She poked her head out of the kitchen, "Wow, hi Rowen! I haven't seen you in ages."

"Shut up, An," the archer groused, setting the satchel on the table. "You could have said-"

"And ruin that touching moment? Nah," she chortled at the scandalous look he gave her. "It is sometimes better to let you guys figure things out for yourselves. I mean, hell, it worked for the Ancient, didn't it?"

"Oh, funny, very funny," Rowen could only shake his head at her antics. "Is this how you're going to be all night?"

"I may shut up long enough to eat," she cheerfully offered. She ducked back into the kitchen, and the archer tilted his head at this and then followed.

"Speaking of," she bit down a yelp when she almost spun right into him. "OI! Blue-hair, space, damnit, space!" She waved her spatula at him, poked him right in the chest with it.

Rowen started to laugh, "Oh my god, that is so Cye! You learn that from him?"

"You guys are an awful influence. Anyway, food will be ready in about fifteen minutes, and Mia's got your spare linens in the closet. She's always prepared in case one of you drops by and needs a place to crash."

"So, Ryo?"

"Ya, he pretty much caused the creation of that trend," she giggled in spite of herself.

Rowen gave a wry grin, ya that one kind of figured. He backed out of the kitchen and walked to where she had mentioned, he grabbed the fresh sheets and walked to the room. He flicked on the light, midnight blue eyes scanning the room. How long had it been since he'd been here?

A frown framed his face as he set about making the bed for the night. It felt so odd, and so empty without the others here. That thought caused him to pause for a long while, and awkwardly: he was poised over the bed frozen in place as he turned these musings over in his head.

Had he really spent the last few months completely oblivious to how much of a hole was left now that he and the others had split? They had been through hell and death together, had made their way back from it, if only just barely. Why hadn't he noticed? And why, all of a sudden, within the last two hours had he thought of them more than he had since their last parting?

"Forget how to make a bed, too?"

Rowen jerked his head to the door where the girl stood, tilting her head at him with an amused grin on her face, not having been prepared for the sudden intrusion. He was frowning as it clicked in his head, "It's you."

"Huh?" Elayne blinked her violet eyes at him in confusion, obviously not privy to his current line of thought.

"The others," the archer said simply, as he finished putting down the sheet. "I haven't thought of them at all really since we went our own ways. Now, I can't stop thinking about them."

She was toying with the jewel around her neck again, something he had often seen her do when she was uncomfortable, "Is it you didn't want to think about them?" Now she looked directly at the young man her violet eyes boring into him, "Or _**couldn't**_?"

The archer stared at her, mouth slightly agape, "Wait a minute. Are you telling me-?"

"I'm not saying anything," the young shaman shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, it is possible that you guys just wanted to forget each other so you could be normal again. But, it's just as likely that what you feel is coming, actually started the minute you got back from Africa."

Rowen's nerves were high again, his voice barely above a whisper, "I want the truth An. Please? Tell me what you know."

"What I know?" the girl closed her eyes a minute to gather her thoughts, and then said: "When Talpa merged the worlds, even for that short a period of time, he did a lot of damage to seals and wards in both realms. You know how that superstition concerning departed spirits goes, right?"

"If no one prays for them they become bitter and are doomed to walk," Rowen murmured, running a hand through his hair. "Or something like that."

"Basically. Ya know, not everyone walks around with a glamorous title: shaman, miko, psychic, and so on. Most of us prefer to be anonymous, I just didn't get to be that lucky," the girl commented with a roll of her eyes, "Cursed from the start, yay me."

She walked over to the other bed, and sat down on it, "We have a responsibility, especially those of us that are caught between here and the spirit realm, to look after those spirits and guide them to where they need to be. Problem being some go bad, very bad and very fast. It puts them on par with youja, that's how powerful they become. So wards and seals are placed to keep them contained, until someone strong enough to undo the damage comes along though sometimes no one ever does. Talpa's little party destroyed lots of those ancient spells, including the one in Africa."

"The Black Inferno, we never knew of its existence because of one of those seals?" Rowen was frowning, more so when she nodded.

"Shaman on that part of our planet are super strong, their tie to the natural world and the spiritual is concrete. It isn't a surprise that the other armor never left the area before that time, or that it took so long for the magic holding it to wear off even after the seal was destroyed. After the merging, we tried to get as many seals and wards back up as we could. But it's not a perfect system so some things fell through the cracks."

Rowen looked the girl over for a long moment, "So that's why you were actually gone so much, and why the linguist thing came in so handy. You've been globe hopping."

"There aren't that many people skilled enough to replace such things, and as my shisho informed me, I am a very quick study," she admitted, saying, "My presence used to mute yours, ya know? It used to work in such a way to keep us all safe from the things in my world, like you used to call it, but that protection wore off too."

"But seems to work just fine, if we get in the same vicinity as you," the archer noted. "If what you're implying happens to be true: that it isn't an accident that we drifted apart."

"Ro, it's normal, okay?" Elayne pursed her lips together. "I'd want to ignore it too, hell the things I know and have seen? I wish I could forget, and go on to pretend that they never happened at all. At the end of the day though, that's not how real life is. Bad shit happens and we have to learn to deal with. What you and the others decided to do is normal, not healthy, but a normal reaction. I just don't feel that the duration of it is."

"More so if I'm thinking about them constantly now, when I haven't before this," Rowen finished for her, as he let out a sigh through his nose.

The shaman gave a nod, and got back to her feet, "Come on, food's ready. No more depressing conversations, okay? Let's save that for a certain blond Ronin. Not your style, definitely his though."

Rowen gave a chuckle as he reached over and ruffled her hair, "Ya the exact opposite of his element in personality."

"I know, I know," the girl lamented, shoving the offending hand away, saying over her shoulder as she exited, "You're preaching to the choir here, To-kun."

He blinked in surprise at her, wow it had been absolute eons since he had heard that nickname but then again it had been ages since he had seen her. He followed behind her at a leisurely pace tilting his head when he noticed she'd already set the table for the two of them. The food was already waiting in the middle of the table, stew by the look and smell of it.

His stomach growled, reminding him his last meal was some hastily made toast this morning at breakfast. He had been far too preoccupied with his task this day to have an appetite.

"You move fast," the archer commented as he took a seat.

Elayne gave a snort, "Food was nearly done by the time you got here. Setting the table for one more wasn't that big of an issue. I made extra in case Mia came home early, so help yourself there's plenty."

Rowen gave a nod to this, noting she barely took any for her plate. He tilted his head at her, "Still not a big eater?"

"Pretty much. I wasn't really hungry, but if I don't eat I get to listen to Mother Mia rag on my ass," the shaman lamented around a mouthful. "All I needed was yet another woman playing mom. I guess it makes up for never having one of my own."

The archer was quiet at hearing this, not too sure how to respond, or even if he should. He remembered well, as the girl had told him once about what she was told happened to her parents. Her mother died within a week of giving birth to her, there had been complications and the woman had simply never recovered and then Elayne's father died not that long after.

If it bothered her, Elayne had never let it show. She had often brushed aside the concern she would get remarking she was so small she didn't even remember them anyway. Still, it had to make for a lonely existence.

"Nah," she was smirking at him, catching his thoughts again. "That's what I have you guys for."

"You were practically a nomad," Rowen couldn't help but tease. "Bounced around from clan to clan like a ping pong ball."

Elayne closed her eyes a moment, "Still am, really. The only reason I've been here this long is cause Mia insisted on it. She was really pissed I had no permanent place to go, and being on break from school and stuff like I have been, well you know how she is."

Yes, he knew quite well. When they had been recovering from that first fight with Talpa, Mia had gone through the painstaking trouble of placating their families. She had told each that the boys were on a field trip and would return shortly. Not that Rowen's father had even known he was gone, but that was okay too.

Mia was smart, she had known they needed time to heal and a place to do so safely without their families prying into the dark truth of what they had been involved in. Every time they had needed a place to stay, or an explanation for their absence the red-head had been quick to provide. He was thankful for that, they all were. It did not surprise him that she would latch onto Elayne in almost the same way, especially when the girl had no real home.

Rowen paused in his eating, "When was the last time you talked to any of the others?"

"They're just as good at replies as you are," the girl dryly commented, leaning back in her seat to glance at the ceiling.

The archer ignored her stab at him with a simple roll of his eyes. He knew better than to engage her as she'd simply come up with a smarter retort. He merely waited for her to stop glaring at the ceiling and respond.

"I talked to Cye about three weeks ago, caught him on his way back from class," Elayne admitted rubbing at her forehead. "Gege I sorta caught a glimpse of when I was down at the restaurant hanging out with Rinfi about two months ago, but he was busy. Nii-" she paused and frowned, "I'm actually a little worried, to be honest. He and I talk at least once a week, but I haven't heard from him for a month. Suki told me he was really busy with school and clan stuff, but I don't think it's that simple."

The archer was frowning, "They're avoiding you."

"I think subconsciously you guys know what kind of effect I have on you, so if this really is an outside force pushing to keep you apart? Well, you're going to stay away from me too because I quell it."

She was right, that made perfect sense. He had been thinking about coming to see her for a long while, but kept finding ways to put it off. Even when he had found that manuscript and the first thought that jumped in his head was that Elayne needed to see it, he had shied away from taking the initiative. He had warred with himself for days.

Now he was here talking to her about his fellow Ronin, his brothers-in-arms that he had been avoiding ever since they parted ways after Africa, and he realized exactly how much he missed them. Thoughts he had easily been tucking into the very recesses of his mind. Well she had mentioned all of the guys, save one, so he made the mistake of asking:

"What about Ryo?"

The shaman was on her feet at mention of the name, grabbing her plate and utensils and heading back to the kitchen. The archer blinked at this and was quick to follow after her. There was no way she was getting off the hook that easily.

"Oi, Layne," Rowen was frowning at her, she had placed the dishes in the sink and was leaning over so that her head rested against the cabinets above. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Can we not talk about him?" she asked, pulling away to turn and look at him, her face was unreadable but her eyes were on the verge of tears.

"Oh no, now we definitely are," Rowen said with a severe look, he disliked that she was upset but the fact she was bothered him a great deal. "What happened between the two of you?"

"No, I'm not talking about it. That's not right, it has nothing to do with you guys. If he wants to tell you that's up to him, I won't do that to him," Elayne shook her head, attention now focused on the dishes in the sink.

She was silent for several long moments, scrubbing furiously at the plates, saying just barely above a whisper, "I haven't talked to him since before the war."

"I got the gist of what happened," Rowen said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. "He told me about it. I mean, we had downtime to spare running around the Nether Realm trying to find the others. He talked about you, a lot."

"He did?" she tilted her head to level a confused look at the archer.

Here he permitted himself a chuckle, "C'mon An. The four of us figured out we all knew you back when we were healing up from the first war. Did ya think your name wouldn't come up during round two?" At her deft shrug, he grinned in amusement, "Granted, Ryo didn't mention you by name, not at first. But after I called him on it, he did, kinda went to him: 'Oh you wouldn't happen to be talking about this bratty kid named Elayne that's a deadringer for Sage most days, now would ya?'"

"Nice, Ro, real nice. You are such an asshole!" the girl fumed, taking the hose from the sink and spraying him with it.

"Hey hey! Not fair," the archer complained, grabbing a towel to snap at her to try and get the shower to stop. He gave her a dirty look, hair now sopping wet, "You have no room to talk."

Elayne stuck her tongue out for good measure, before shutting the faucet off and drying her hands on the one towel that didn't get soaked. "To be honest, I can't believe he talked about me any."

"An, you aren't mad at him are you?" Rowen queried with a frown, trying to understand why she hadn't spoken to Ryo in so long. "You get why he-"

"To-kun, that's not it," the girl shook her head. "He left to keep me safe, I know that. It's just, the Ancient agreed I would have been a huge distraction for him, and he was going to have a lot on his shoulders as it was. So, I called the day after Ryo vanished, left him a voice message and that was that."

He stared at her for several long moments this obviously still pained her a great deal. She was nervously fiddling with the stone around her neck, her eyes tightly shut as if trying to ward off what she was feeling.

"I went to the cabin a few times," she admitted, sounding slightly embarrassed almost as if she had done something wrong. "He was never there, and Sanada-tou-san was a few times but I told him to keep quiet about it. After I got done chewing him out for leaving Ry alone so much, anyway."

"You should try again, Layne," Rowen frowned when she shook her head.

"Ryo needs his space, he's got his own life and doesn't need a nuisance like me mucking it up," the shaman murmured, walking back out of the kitchen to grab the food off the table and put it away.

"You are _not_ a nuisance! Where the heck did that even come from?"

She gave a chuckle, walked past him and started putting the food away. She didn't bother to respond which served to irritate him a little bit. Granted, Rowen reminded himself, she had always been condescending towards herself. She had always tried so hard to melt into the background and stay there.

"You're too much like Sage," Rowen ridiculed with a frustrated sigh. "You've never been a nuisance to _any_ of us, Elayne. Not once."

"Thanks, Ro, I appreciate that," she admitted, closing the door to the fridge and standing up straight. "I miss him. You decide to start being friends again, you look out for him, okay?"

"Hey," he slung an arm around her shoulders, momentarily taken aback by how slight she was. He hadn't realized she was _that_ thin and frail, but he shook himself from his stupor. "No problem, we'll work this out the five of us."

"I hope so, maybe then I can stop being mad at you guys," she commented, seeming to mull it over. "Then again, maybe not."

"Mad at us?"

Elayne looked up at the archer, violet eyes flickering, "I never said I wasn't mad at him, I am. I'm pissed at all of you, actually. I _know_ what you did, Rowen. Mia never had to tell me anything."

Rowen felt himself pale at this, letting out a shaky breath he took a step back and away from the girl. He had not told her, not once had any of them shared with her exactly what had happened during the first invasion. It was something they did not even talk about amongst themselves, they simply couldn't.

How was a fourteen-year-old supposed to rationalize his own death, anyway? It was like a dirty little secret, one they kept well under wraps but it would sneak out in the middle of the night to haunt them in their dreams. And then, the final fight with Talpa, with the four of them having to- He stopped that thought right where it was not willing to finish it.

The silence hung there for a few minutes, it was obvious she was aware of his thoughts by the look she was giving him. But the moment passed, it was simply one more thing better left unspoken.

"You guys were luckier than you know," she softly murmured. "The armors kept you alive the first time around, and the Jewel of Life spared Ryo that last time. If you guys weren't so damn lucky, I'd be talking to your spirits and not you."

"Ah hell, imp," the archer let out a sigh, finally understanding the emotion in her eyes for what it was: hurt. He wrapped her in a tight hug, "I'm so sorry. We shoulda listened. But we're still here, okay? We made it, and maybe we aren't completely out of the woods yet, but I know one thing."

"What's that?" came the muffled reply, the girl was refusing to cry. She would not show such weakness, not here and certainly not now.

He smirked, "You can't get rid of us that easily." He ruffled her hair, smiling when she started to laugh. "I'm gonna get some shut eye, okay? I have been binge studying for the last four days."

"Alright, goodnight Rowen."

"Night, Layne."

* * *

Rowen stared up at the ceiling for a long while, arms folded comfortably behind his head. It really was too quiet here without them. He sighed and closed his eyes, he really could use some decent sleep.

It felt like he had not rested well in years due to the stresses of school and the nagging feeling that something was up. He had let these things eat at him for too long. He was glad Elayne had been there and willing to help him on that end of things.

He chuckled to himself, he still recalled the first time he had met her. It had been very brief, she had been standing in Nakahara Daiki's shadow, the Ambassador had been a huge fan of Genichirou's works. Not that the archer was sure what the old man enjoyed about the mad scientist, but he digressed. The man would stop in and strike up conversation with Rowen's father from time to time about the latest and greatest projects. As the archer remembered seeing him on several occasions before the one currently stuck in his mind.

Rowen mulled it over, she had been small not more than six. He knew it was late October or early November because he'd been ten by that point, and there was that unmistakable chill in the air. She hadn't said anything, stood quietly next to the two adults while they rattled on.

The archer recalled he had been leafing through one of his beloved history books, but he had glanced up knowing she had been in the room. He wasn't sure how then, now of course he knew better, and he quickly averted his gaze when she locked eyes with him.

Her gaze had been unsettling, it was as though she had seen right into him. Not through, but seen him to the very core of his soul. That had been troubling to a little boy of ten, and hell even with him being technically an adult it was still disturbing. Even more so now, when that was the same look Sage had.

They hadn't even spoken to each other that first time, and Genichirou had scolded him for being so impolite. Rowen had scoffed at that as being a people person wasn't exactly his thing, that was his mother's. The next time they met was a few weeks later, his father had wandered off while they were out shopping and so Rowen had gone to the bookshop, grabbed a book, _The Art of War,_ and sat down in a corner to read it.

The shopkeeper was used to him doing such a thing and paid him little mind, the gentlemen always made sure to keep an eye out for Genichirou and tell him where his son was. It just tended to take Rowen's dad an hour or two to realize he no longer had his son with him. Absent-minded professor, all the way.

He had been enthralled with the book, but frustrated at the sametime. Much of it was translated but quite imperfectly. The original Chinese text was in certain spots, which was a rare thing, but he couldn't read that. His annoyance was what drew her to him, he would later come to realize this when he was older and had a better appreciation of her nature.

She had gone to reintroduce herself when she called him by name, but he had recited it for her. To which her eyes were half-lidded when she corrected him, her name was Elayne, An was just something Daiki told everyone to irritate her. She was currently finding ways to entertain herself because he was involved in a lengthy discussion with the shopkeeper (did the guy seriously know everyone on the planet or something? she had fumed).

Rowen had shrugged said he was waiting on his father like he normally did, and was fully intent to go back to reading his book. Til she pointed out the next two pages were in Chinese and she was pretty sure he couldn't read it. When he had moved to protest she commented he was holding the book upside down.

He chuckled to himself now, she certainly had known how to make an impression. She had translated it for him, citing the fact her Gege had taught her how to read the characters.  
"Last to meet her, last to find my armor," the archer shook his head. "And last to get found after the tornado bit. I should learn to sleep earlier then maybe I wouldn't be the last to everything."

Their friendship had pretty much begun there. With him excited that there was finally somebody out there that understood what books meant, and even happier she could translate stuff for him that he couldn't on his own. She had even been subjected to two weeks of life with him and his father, with her griping that they were worse than "Umi-tou-san" and she wasn't sure how that was even remotely possible. It was something Rowen would understand only _after_ he realized Ryo knew Elayne, and the katana wielder had been in stitches to hear the nickname she'd given Takumi.

When she wasn't being bounced around from clan to clan, it was easy to keep in touch. They even hung out on weekends, not every weekend but maybe every other one. She had known him before the armor a thing he was still very thankful of, and also of the warnings she had given him. Because she had _known_ , when he had gone digging into his family history he was going to come across it. He still wasn't sure how she knew, he had never asked and she had never offered it up. Not that he expected her to, she was shaman after all and they had secrets of their own to deal with.

Then he had stumbled across Strata and she had given him one more warning, which turned into a plea. She knew he had no intentions of casting aside his new responsibility, so all she wanted was for him to be careful, to stay safe, and alive a promise which he readily made. A promise he now knew they all made. But not a one of them had been able to keep.

He could say what he wanted to about Strata, about Talpa's vile influence and then Inferno's, but Elayne had made a very good point earlier that evening: the armors were the only reason they were still alive. They should never have survived the first invasion, it had been all over, but the armors had prevented it from happening. They had kept Talpa from devouring the boys' souls, for whatever reason. Rowen didn't know and he probably never would.

A tired yawn escaped him now and he rubbed at his eyes. Thinking through all of this had finally exhausted him enough that he could go to bed. He turned off the bedside lamp, and the minute his head hit the pillow he was asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Rowen gritted his teeth together in frustration, his heart pounding in his ears as the adrenaline coursed through his veins. He _had_ to do this, he had to make sure Ryo stayed alive. He was their only shot! Rowen's attention was back on his opponent in an instant. She was laughing at him, a coy smirk on her face as they fought.

The archer knew he couldn't beat her, she was too damn powerful. In the game of wits he and the Lady Kayura were evenly matched, even in skill, but power? No she had the upper-hand and he knew it. He had long ago stopped kidding himself on that matter.

His mind was racing, as he tried to grasp at something _anything_ to try and at least take her down a peg or two. But there was nothing. His armor was doing everything in it's power to keep him airborne and alive, but that frail protection wasn't going to hold forever.

He didn't know what to do other than try and keep her pre-occupied. If her focus was on him, it would be off of Ryo. He needed a better plan, but he just couldn't come up with anything. If all else failed, he could let himself get captured and that would be a surefire way to find the others.

His midnight-blue eyes narrowed, wait that was it exactly. Why hadn't he thought of it before? Because he had been too worried about Wildfire's bearer, he hadn't wanted to leave Ryo alone. Not because Ryo was by any means incapable, that wasn't it, he just felt responsible. They all did.  
Rowen's mind had been briefly pulled off of the fighting, but abruptly returned when he felt Kayura's blades burn through the armor protecting his skin.

He bolted upright in the bed, sweat clinging to his forehead as his breathing came in short ragged gasps. The scream of agony had died in his throat as he slammed back to consciousness. He cast the covers off of himself, startled to see that his hands were shaking.

Even after all this time, that memory still instilled the most fear in him. This was the third time in a month he had that particular nightmare. A hand went to his chest, as he looked himself over, half expecting to find an actual open and bleeding wound there. All that was present was a pale x-shaped mark, something his armor had been unable to heal.

The armors had always offered them protection, and kept them from a great deal of physical harm. Instances where that didn't work, the armors had always given them an accelerated healing ability. It left next to no scars, but this one...Rowen had assumed it was because Kayura had burned through the armor and not pierced it.

He didn't want to ponder over what would have happened if she had. At that shuddering thought the archer was up and out of the bed. His breathing was still erratic, his nerves shot enough that he couldn't think clearly.

Rowen walked out onto the balcony got onto the railing, then turned and jumped with a practiced ease to land on the roof. He took no time in sitting down, bending his knees and wrapping his arms around them. The teen ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes trying to calm himself.

The wind whispered past him, blowing at his bangs as if trying to offer some small form of comfort. It did no good, he was too wound up, too distraught. It would take forever for him to calm down, it always did after that particular dream.

So he would sit up here and wait, it was all he could do anyway. The fact this nightmare again cropped up just solidified things even more: something was definitely coming. He wasn't ready, and he knew it.

* * *

The black crystalline jewel lay on the table, next to the head of the sleeping girl. It flickered in the dark room, casting an eerie array of lights on the wall. A soft hum filtered in, it sounded almost like a chime but it was worn or perhaps broken. The sound was faint, barely discernible but then it intensified.

Elayne opened her eyes at that noise, head up and off the table as she blinked trying to remember what was going on. She had been leafing through Mia's research notes and promptly dozed off. Not the most comfortable way to fall asleep that was for sure.

As she moved to pick up the jewel she had earlier removed, panic filled her senses and she dropped the necklace back onto the table. Her eyes darted about the room, half expecting someone to jump out and grab her.

"No, that's not right. This isn't me," Elayne scolded herself taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. Being so sensitive to people, and a shaman, she had learned to develop mental walls to shut out what others were feeling. Yet, those walls tended to become lax when one was asleep. It always took her a few minutes to realize the emotions weren't hers.

She scooped up the flickering jewel, and gently clasped it back around her neck, "All right, I get the point." As if in response to her words it stopped with the light and sound show, returning to the way it had been earlier in the day: dark and silent.

"Temperamental family heirloom," she griped as she got to her feet, tucking the chair under the table. She was used to the quirky thing though, it had been passed through her family for generations. Each wearer a gifted shaman or healer of some form, and each leaving a valuable imprint on what would have otherwise been an ordinary stone.

Now it was as sensitive and reactionary as she was, and it had a particular dislike for when people were distraught. Especially, if the someone was a Ronin Warrior and that little factor had always bugged her growing up. Why was it so sensitive to them? She had always downplayed it, after all they were spiritually strong and the armors were their own entities. But sometimes, she wondered.

The young shaman climbed the stairs to the rooms with a frown on her face, able to think more clearly now as her normal walls returned. It was definitely Rowen's panic that she had been channeling. She poked her head into the room, not surprised to find it empty she had only looked for posterity's sake.

The sliding glass door to the balcony was wide open, the wind gently causing the curtains to sway. Yeah, that pretty much figured. The shaman could clearly sense where the panic was coming from and decided it was time to get there.

Elayne shook her head as she backed out of the room and headed up towards the attic where she knew there was easier roof access. Not everyone was capable of gracefully jumping from a balcony to a roof, and she certainly didn't feel like trying at this time of the-

A quick glance at her wristwatch told her it was two, so joy it was morning. No wonder Rowen never went to bed early. What was the point if you were just going to wake up before the sun even bothered?

She was outside now, once her inner musings had done pandering through, and she grimaced at the chill in the air. Her violet eyes were on the archer, a sad frown quickly forming on her face as she watched him war with himself. He couldn't calm down and it was frustrating him, you didn't have to be shaman to see that.

The girl quietly approached, knowing well he had already sensed her presence by the way he had abruptly tensed then just as suddenly relaxed. She sat down next to him, and then leaned back on her arms to gaze up at the sky.

* * *

Rowen wasn't quite sure how long the two of them sat there in total silence, but it felt longer than what it actually it was. Almost immediately he had felt his erratic emotions and chaotic thoughts start to change, to slow. His heart which had been prepared to fully leap out of his chest was returning to a normal steady rhythm.

He took in a few deep breaths and carefully let them back out heaving a sigh when his mind was again calm. Midnight-blue eyes looked curiously to the girl next to him. She hadn't moved from her spot and she had yet to say a word. It-to be honest- sometimes her perceptive nature scared him. She understood so well what he needed, when to push, when to leave him alone and he knew for a fact she was like that with all of them.

Whether it was solely her clan's heritage that made her that way, or the stone around her neck he wasn't sure. All he knew was that at times it seemed the young girl knew him better than he knew himself.

"Nah," she broke the silence between them, casting him a sideways glance. "I just toss a coin and end up lucky."

Rowen couldn't help himself, he actually let out a light laugh in amusement the rest of his tension melting away. He offered her a meek smile, "Sorry, Elayne."

"Huh?" she actually pulled herself up a little to look at him.

"I didn't mean to wake you up, I'm sure I did," the archer lamented rubbing nervously at the back of his head.

"You saved me a huge pain, actually," Elayne commented with a loose shrug of her shoulders. "Fell asleep on the table going over Mia's notes. So thanks, I'll actually have use of my neck later." She looked him over a long moment, "Must've been one hell of a nightmare. I've never seen you that shaken."

"Heh. Bad memory, actually," Rowen admitted, leaning back to rest on his elbows to glance up at the stars. "Really bad."

She was quiet for a few moments, wrinkled her nose as she thought it over, then asked, "Want to talk about it?"

The archer opened his mouth and then closed it without saying anything. He thought it over in his head for several long moments. Did he really want to talk about it? That memory was one of the worst ones for him. He had come so close to failing his friends when they had needed him the most. He had barely managed to pull it off. He closed his eyes a moment, jumping forward startled when Kayura's image flashed across his mind.

"Easy!" Elayne urged, having grasped his arm to hold him back. The girl looked over the edge of the roof worriedly, "You know, I don't think I want to test to see if you really do have powers without the armor? Certainly not if it's gonna result in a giant blueberry pancake when we find out you don't bounce anymore."

"You really _are_ Sage!" Rowen chortled, placing a hand overtop of her smaller one. He gave her a knowing look, "I'm okay, An-chan thanks."

Contact was one of the easiest ways for her to mend frayed nerves, and he was certain after that nightmare any patchwork she had done early had been shot. He was also quite thankful she had prevented him from launching himself off the roof. That would have been interesting to explain to Mia.

"Oh I don't know about that, I think you were always nuts but that's just me," she gently teased, seeming to relax as he did. She paused a moment, saying quieter, "The offer to talk still stands, you know? I'll listen."

He hesitated again, mulled it over in his mind. Rowen suddenly gave a nod, "You know what? Ya, I want to talk." He suddenly shuddered as he finally took notice of the cold air brushing past them. "Just, inside. It's kinda chilly out here."

"That's because you're practically naked," Elayne bluntly informed him.

At realization that he was in nothing but his boxer shorts in her presence, he went bright red slamming a hand over his face in embarrassment. He opened his fingers, offering her a weak smile.

The young shaman snorted down a laugh, and shook her head, "What are you turning colors for? I've seen you like this before. Hell, I've seen all of you in boxers if not less. And yes, I am scarred for life. Trust me. The consequences of growing up with boys, I will _never_ be the same!" She had started to walk back towards the attic window, quick to slip inside.

Rowen followed after her, his blush slowly dying down. He cast one last look to the sky above, before ducking back into the house making sure to grab a shirt out of his room on the way down to the living room. He flopped down on the couch, while the girl grabbed a blanket and used said sofa as a backrest while she sat on the floor. He didn't start at any particular point, he just started to talk, deciding it was time to try and put his personal demons to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Mia hummed quietly to herself as she drove up the long driveway leading to her home. She was happy that the lecture circuit had ended, it wasn't that she didn't enjoy the job but it tended to be quite taxing. Especially when she had been gone for two weeks, and sleeping in crummy hotel beds (they weren't less than four star hotels but man the beds sucked).

"I'm just so happy it ended early," she sighed in relief as the house was finally in view. She had been due to speak for another week, but the university in question their professor leading the speeches had gone into labor a full month before she was due. Mia was quite thrilled to take the option to reschedule for a later time.

Besides, she was concerned about her "house guest." Left to her own devices for too long was not a good thing. She reminded Mia a lot of Ryo in that way, totally oblivious about her own welfare but deeply worried about everyone else she was close to.

Mia had been happy to take her on for the American summer school break, especially when the guest was helping her with research. The red-head had taken it upon herself to find out everything about the armors and their legend, going back further than what her grandfather had been able to find.

She had slated it as her research project and pitched it to others as continuing Dr. Koji's legacy, so she too could complete her doctorate in the near future. It was frowned upon for someone to fund their own work, so she had gone looking for sponsors. Her first instinct had been to reach out to her grandfather's old contacts, which led her to his boyhood friend, Ambassador Nakahara Daiki.

An eccentric old coot to be sure, Mia had met him on a handful of occasions growing up, that was what she had always remembered him as being. So when she walked into his office to "sell" her idea she had not been expecting him to be so warm and kind, nor him ushering in his legal ward: the Mogami Clan's shaman.

The two had put on a cold uncaring act until Daiki's attache left the room, and they burst into laughter. Apparently they were on attache number four, but this one had lasted a lot longer than any of the other ones. Mia had been bewildered at their behavior, both quick to apologize but Nakahara had a reputation which the Mogami girl was happy to keep.

As Nakahara claimed his name would do Mia little use, he suggested that having An back the research, well that would pretty much shut-up any naysayer. It had, and that had been the start of an interesting and unique friendship between her and Elayne. Mia had heard the boys talk of their families, had heard them mention a little girl only in passing, she had never really questioned them on it.

She'd been surprised to find out Elayne was the common thread, but the young shaman had laughed it off. People with unique abilities were always drawn to each other, even if they were unaware of it at the time. Nakahara had known about the legend of the armor, about the clans rumored to have held each yoroi, and being of shaman nature it had been beneficial to have her in each house. Her presence had helped to mask the Ronin as they had always been different, different enough that the things of "her world" could find and seek them out.

A protection she said wore off the minute Talpa merged the mortal realm with that of the Nether. If that was true, it helped to explain how Shikaisen had tracked down Sage. Then how the Black Inferno, which they never even knew existed, found its counterpart. Something which still bothered Mia was knowing this "protection" was gone, especially since now the Ronin Warriors were just like normal boys. Though, Elayne claimed they were still different, because if they were truly normal she'd have no way to sense them.

"I guess that means, their destiny, whatever it is, still isn't over," Mia murmured biting down on her lip, brows pricked into a frown. That was why she had invited Elayne to stay over the girl's summer break, to help her go through and breakdown each clan's legend concerning the armor to try and trace it back to it's origin.

Mia knew that those armors had not belonged to Talpa originally, because if they had there would have been no reason for the White and Black armor nor the sacred treasures associated with each. There was a reason for everything, and the red-head knew that. It was just proving it.

Oh well, there was no use stewing over it now. She had called and checked on Elayne two days ago, trying not to do it everyday since the girl didn't enjoy being babied. Bouncing around from clan to clan she had no absence of mom figures worrying about her every single minute of every single day, so Mia tried not to be one more of those figures.

"Hm, that's odd," Mia's eyes spotted a bike resting up against the wall. She had gone into town to pick An up, so why? Her eyes widened in realization: it was Rowen's!

Mia parked her car, and got out. Opting to leave her suitcase in the car to go back and get back later. The archer knew she was out, they had talked not more than a week ago. So he had come to see Elayne, and the young shaman had mentioned the Ronin were evading her intentionally. Concerned that they had splintered right after Africa more due to an outside force than an inside one, the fact they were still apart weighed heavily on both their minds. Elayne was convinced it wasn't normal anymore, and their evasion of her was all the proof she needed.

" _Why?"_

" _The protection they had from growing up with me is gone, but I still have the ability. So if it is an outside force, I'd be able to negate the planted feelings and the guys know that. I don't think they want to be friends anymore, I think they want to be normal. Staying away from me? That's the best way to keep up this illusion."_

So why was Rowen here now? Mia pushed open the door, having inserted her key into the lock and then strained to listen. A small smile on her face as she recognized the all-too-familiar sound of the archer's snoring. She followed it to the living room, cursing her luck that she didn't have a camera.

The archer was sprawled out on the couch, arms and legs hanging pretty much everywhere, a blanket haphazardly cast over him. The young girl was wrapped up in a blanket, back against the couch, head down her breathing slow and even.

' _I really wish I had a camera!'_

"I'd just burn the film," the girl sleepily mumbled, picking up her head and trying to stifle a yawn. "Okarie."

"Tadiama," Mia said with a smile, "When did he show up?"

"Last night, just before supper," Elayne stretched out her arms and then got to her feet making sure not to knock into the young man. "We talked for a bit, he went to sleep, had a really bad nightmare and we were up til about five. He talked, I listened. He needed it."

"Mogami Clan Shaman slash Therapist to the Supernaturally Inclined," Mia teased as the two walked to the kitchen, leaving the archer to continue his snoring.

"Heh you have _no_ idea," the young girl lamented as she fell into the chair, plopping her head onto the table. "I think I'm in the wrong line of work interning as a nurse practitioner. And globe hopping due to shaman responsibility and saying it's to get me "better cultured" whatever the hell that means. Should have been a psychiatrist."

"Elayne, you're still young," the red-head pointed out quick to get the kettle on the stove so they could have some tea.

"And not going back to school once I'm done with it," the shaman rebutted. "No matter _who_ insists or how many."

Mia bit down a chortle and shook her head, it took no time at all for the tea to be ready and she was quick to pour the girl a cup, face quickly becoming solemn as she cast a glance to the room they had left the sleeping archer in.

"What did he want?"

"I have a feeling you'll be hearing from Ryo about it, in a week or two," Elayne answered, as she sipped at the tea. "Don't look at me like that Mi. You're just gonna have to trust me, I can't tell you anything right now."

"Cause it would upset balance or something?" Mia queried tilting her head, she was only half-joking. She had learned a lot from the young shaman about the supernatural world, more than she ever would have from her grandfather's notes. A world that the Ronin skirted dangerously close to when they were armor bearers, one they may still be connected to even now.

Elayne let out a nervous laugh, toying with the stone about her neck, "Probably would. If I know things, I can't act on them. Everything is meant to happen when it is meant to happen and not a moment before. Doesn't mean I don't try to run interference when I can." She winked, "I don't play by the rules all the time."

"Sage," Mia said with a snorted laugh. "He likes to break them on occasion too, but he'll never admit to it."

"He gets that from the Mogami side," Elayne sniggered out, leaning back in her chair.

The red-head threw the girl a sympathetic smile, "You miss them, huh?"

"Immensely. They were my heroes growing up, my way cooler than me big brothers destined to save the world and I could only sit there and cheer," she admitted sounding quite sheepish. "I wish I could have been useful to them like you were Mia. I'm so thankful you looked after them."

Mia smiled, she had received this praise from the younger girl before. Really, she still didn't feel like she had done anything special, merely assisted the Ronin in anyway she could. She had adopted them as her younger brothers quite fast, because they had needed someone there. "You're helping now though, you're funding my research and helping me pour over the family notes."

The young woman put down her cup when the girl didn't seem to be comforted by her words, "Something else bad is coming, isn't there?"

"Ro has sensed it, not sure how long. He admitted to me he's been toying with the idea of coming to see me for a while, but just couldn't bring himself to do it."

"They ask after you in their phone calls to me," Mia admitted quietly, "They all know you have been here off and on. Aren't you avoiding them just as much?"

At the accusation the girl recoiled, a pained look coming to her face, both hands now on the stone around her neck, "Mia, I can't. I'm a shaman, I'm a huge lure and they don't have their armors anymore. I'd be putting them in danger from the things in my world, things that they can now see thanks to their war with Talpa."

"Evil spirits, low level demons and the like," Mia recited with a sigh, yes she had heard this before. It was the same answer every time she tried to convince the girl to go back, to reach out and press the issue.

The girl gave a deft nod, "I've hung around them since the war, ya but not since Africa. I've seen them in passing, if at all. I never linger around their families too long either, I'm scared, terrified someone will get hurt because of me. And right now, the guys don't want to see me. If they did, they'd be here. I'm actually surprised To-kun showed up."

"If they really have been toyed with since Africa, just give it time. There's hope if Rowen has come around," she gave a smile, adding with a smirk. "He does tend to be the most dense of them."

"I know. His head is twice as thick as Kento's, and he's three times the mule Ryo is," Elayne commented rolling her eyes, shrieking in protest when she was promptly pulled from her chair from behind.

"What a darling little sibling you are," Rowen informed her, "Emphasis on little, smallfry."

"Asshole!" Elayne fumed, flailing her arms about and trying to clock him in the head but to no avail.

The archer chuckled, knowing full well her small form was no match for his, he continued to let her swing her arms about, and said, "Hey, Mi! You're home early."

"Hi Rowen," the red-head slowly answered, blinking at the interaction between the two of them.

"Oh don't mind us,ACK!" He winced and nearly dropped the girl when she slammed him in the nose with her flailing arms. "Damnit An, just behave while the adults talk."

The air left his lungs in a whoosh, when she intentionally elbowed him in the gut and he released his hold. She landed on both feet and smirked up at him in triumph.

"'Mind me to kick Sage's ass for teaching you that," the archer griped, rubbing at the sore spot and getting back on his feet.

Elayne stuck her tongue out and sat back down in her chair, "Don't underestimate us vertically challenged people beanpole, and stuff like that won't happen."

Rowen just gaped at her while Mia broke into laughter at the look of disbelief on his face. The archer sat down with a huff, it looked as though he were sulking until Mia handed him a cup of tea and he perked up. Then he out and out smirked when he turned his attention back to Elayne.

"Brat," Rowen informed pushing her in the shoulder.

"Jerk."

"Hey, kids," Mia broke in after the insults had gone from G to R rated in the span of about six minutes. "Cut it out."

Rowen smirked at her, "Yes Mom." He yowled in pain when she kicked him under the table. "Damnit, Mi, that hurt!"

"Kind of the point," she commented, head resting on her hands, "Nice of you to stop by Ro, especially while I was out."

He gave a nervous chuckle, rubbing at the back of his head, "Yeah, I know I took advantage of you being gone. But I figured Miss Evasive here," he jerked a thumb at Elayne, "Would never see it coming. ACK!"

The girl thumped him in the back of the head, her eyes half-lidded at the insult though she made no verbal reply to it. She simply went back to her tea as if nothing had happened.

Rowen whined as he rubbed at his very sore head, why was she always hitting him? It just wasn't nice the way she pretended she had done nothing wrong. That was one more thing she had learned from the blond swordsman.

"Evasive, is she?" Mia tilted her head, a smile on her face. "You told me two months ago to say "hi" to her. She hasn't gone anywhere, she's been here the whole time. So who's been avoiding whom?"

The archer shrank in his chair, suddenly very interested in the steaming cup of liquid in his hands. A frown was on his face as he mulled it over, oblivious of Mia's worried look. She was only teasing, and the archer knew that, but still it brought the talk he and Elayne had back to the forefront of his mind.

"I kind of think," Rowen answered, tone quiet, "We've all been avoiding everyone. Each other, and those closest to us that know the truth. We did pull outta that funk around you, Mi, at least."

"Rowen-" Mia paused, not sure what to say or if she should say anything. She took note of the violet eyes boring a hole in her skull and opted for the latter.

The archer took no notice, waving her off, "No worries. I know what I got to do, and I really have to head back I've got classes later today. Good to see you ladies, stay out of trouble."

"No breakfast?" Elayne curiously queried with a quirked eyebrow.

Rowen chuckled, "Nah, no thanks. I'm gonna get dressed and head on home. I will talk to you later."

"Hey you could always stay that way, Mia and I aren't complaining," Elayne called after his retreating form obviously referring to his current attire. She started to chortle when she heard the telltale thud of him walking into the wall.

Mia clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, she shook her head at the impish grin on the girl's face. No, Mia was not about to complain about the partially dressed man that had been sitting at her table. Really, she couldn't believe how much he filled out.

"I know, right?" Elayne chirped, grin still very much in place. "It's like damn, when did he bulk up? And, wait, hey you know, did the other guys too?"

"My secret," the red-head smirked, chortling at the sulky look she garnered for that. She was quick to get to her feet and head into the kitchen to see about making breakfast for just the two of them.

Elayne watched her go with a half-frown then pushed herself away from the table, standing up and slipping out the front door. Hands crossed in front of her chest as she stood there and looked up at the sky. Her eyes went to the door when Rowen walked out, satchel tossed over his shoulder.

"Hey imp, what's a matter?" the archer queried, something had upset her. There was no other reason, they had already said goodbye.

She looked much more worried now than when they were ready to part last night, "Ro, be careful okay?"

"I already promised, and I'll be sure to keep it or you'll kick my ass," he said with a chuckle, placing a hand on her forehead. "Don't worry, a'ight?"

"Ya, after all, you are the smartest of the five," Elayne quipped.

Rowen smirked, "Damn right I am!" He hopped on his bike and waved, then began the long trek back home.

He felt better than he had in months. He still couldn't believe he had worked himself into so many knots because of a silly manuscript that was no longer relevant. Seeing the shaman had helped to put to rest the fear of the unknown.

The minute he got home he would send the book to Ryo. Rowen would make sure to be careful and stay vigilant. He had no real desire to fight again, but if he had to he would. He would just be certain to keep the others out of it, that was his duty as the former Ronin of Strata and their friend.

He had no way of knowing that he'd be unable to do so. The wheels of Fate were already in motion and there was no way to stop it. The Ronin Warriors were no more but it appeared Destiny had other plans.

* * *

Mia poked her head out of the kitchen frowning at the solemn look on Elayne's face, she had heard the girl exit then Rowen do the same, but she hadn't heard her come back in.

"Elayne?"

The girl dropped the hand from around her neck and snapped her head up, "Hm?"

She placed the bowl of oatmeal in front of the girl, looking at her worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"I," she hesitated, nodding her thanks at the food. "I don't know. I have all the faith in the world in them and more, but all of a sudden I just got hit with this horrible feeling and I can't shake it."

Mia sat down at the table and placed a hand over the girl's shocked to find it so cold, "We don't even know if anything is going to happen."

"Yes we do," Elayne murmured, chewing on her bottom lip. "I've been having nightmares for the last three weeks. And this feeling? It's the same exact one I had before Talpa's first invasion. The same feeling I get right before something happens that rips their lives asunder. I hate it."

Mia now took both of the girl's hands, saying in a stern tone, "Elayne. Look at me."

The young shaman had once explained to Mia how easy it was to become unsettled when shifts in the supernatural realm occurred. Often, especially when she was younger, it led straight into a panic attack. Mia had quickly learned how to avoid that by giving Elayne something to focus on.

"Sorry, thanks," the girl said in a meek tone, letting out a slow collected breath.

Mia gave a smile, and took her hands away, "I have a feeling you did more than just listen to somebody talk about his woes last night. You're too frazzled."

"Heh," Elayne took a spoonful of oatmeal by way of response. She would neither confirm nor deny that, she didn't like being able to do the things she could even if they were helpful.

The red-head gave an amused shake of her head, but decided not to press the issue. Sometimes it was better to leave a little mysticism in the air.


	5. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 **Two Weeks Later**

Rowen ran a hand through his hair as he walked down the street, the feeling of restlessness within him had done nothing but grow the last two weeks. The talk had only been able to ease his mind for a relatively short time.

He had started looking over his shoulder days ago, expecting the shadows to jump out and grab him. They hadn't, as of yet. Maybe he was being paranoid, but somewhere deep down he knew better.

That was why he had put the package in the mail to Ryo, leaving Wildfire's bearer with a brief note and little explanations. How could he offer any? No, he had to look into this further. He had put some of it on the back burner after his visit to Mia's, but he could do so no longer.

He was out of time to stall. It was better to confront this, whatever it was, head on. He needed to sort this out and then tell the others what he found, if he found anything. That was his duty to them as the former Ronin of Strata, and as their friend.  
"I just wish, this would be over," the archer muttered to himself. Suddenly he felt it, the change in the air around him a sign he knew and understood all too well. A swear escaped from his lips as he took off running, heading towards the source as instinct took over.

…

 _..._

" _That was the first."_

* * *

 _ **A/N: As I said earlier, this is a very short story. It originally was supposed to be a one-shot, but I let the plot bunny runaway (as is my norm). We will see if I ever get around to writing the "Message"**_ ** _accompaniment_** _ **, but no promises.**_

 _ **-LG**_


End file.
